Egypt, EU to sign economic pact June-end

Published May 9th, 2001 - 02:00 GMT

An economic association agreement between Egypt and the European Union will be signed in Brussels this coming June.

An economic association agreement between Egypt and the European Union will be signed in Brussels this coming June, according to Xinhua News. The accord will promote mutual market access and increased trade between the two parties, as well as boost European investments in Egypt.

Under the agreement, the Egyptian market will be open to small-scale European products, while the EU will open its market to all Egyptian products.

The partnership is part of the EU’s Barcelona initiative, launched in 1995, to create a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone, consisting of 27 countries within the next decade. Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority have already signed their own agreements.

The EU is Egypt’s main economic partner, with trade between the tow parties accounting for approximately nine billion dollars, out of Egypt’s $24 billion total trade volume. Because of Egypt’s key role in Africa and the Islamic world, it is also considered the most important regional trade partner of the EU.

The agreement, which was to be signed May 14, will instead postponed to the end of June, as a result of discontent by both parties with certain provisions, which were later ratified. —(Albawaba-MEBG)